Georges Fontenis : Journey of an adventurist of the Libertarian movement (Part 2)

What can explain the rise of Georges Fontenis, who within an organization constituted of anarchist militants, has so easily cumulated the functions of General Secretary for five years, of responsible for the self-defense group, of responsible for the training courses for young activists, of responsible for the Revue anarchiste, of permanent editor and publisher of Le Libertaire, of responsible for the Education commission, of chairman of the Anarchist Youth and above all of chairman of the OPB !

The Memorandum of the Kronstadt group tries an explanation :

“Thus, using the passivity of the mass of activists and methodic infiltration, a fraction was able to control and rule the entire Federation. [...] Its monolithic thought and its disciplined cohesion enabled a strategy and tactics that easily triumphed over the dispersed activists, who were confident in the federalism of the organization.”

According to the Memorandum, the success of Fontenis’ attempt was especially due to the “lack of revolutionary vigilance from the activists and to the passive renunciation of many of them to use their right to criticize facts which could have seemed questionable to them”